David Burress wants to live forever. Not necessarily in the immortal sense though. Burress is an accomplished blacksmith. And for him, it’s all about sharing and perpetuating the sacred traditions of working with the elements of the Earth — fire,…

An Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration will showcase mountain culture, heritage, music, dance, storytelling, arts and crafts and demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 8, on Main Street in downtown Waynesville. Headliners for the festival include David Holt and…

Jackson County Planning Board members discussed axing part of the steep slope rules aimed at protecting mountain viewsheds. The viewshed provisions stipulate new mountainside construction should not be readily visible from public right of ways or public lands.

In his brief five months in Congress, U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, has kept busy — voting on several pieces of key legislation, sitting in on committee hearings, drafting bills of his own and when he can, traveling back to Western…

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will receive more federal aid than originally promised after January’s rainstorms, flooding and mudslides. In March, the Eastern Band became the first tribe to garner the Presidential Declaration of Disaster, which made it eligible…

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has settled a civil lawsuit claiming overflows from the tribe’s sewage treatment plant were backing up on nearby private property. Linda Lambert sued the tribe in May 2011, saying sewage overflows on her property…

Western Carolina University is grappling with whether to cut unpopular or obsolete majors, posing a conundrum as it and other universities examine their deeper role in society: to provide a well-rounded, liberal arts education or steer students toward degrees in…

It’s got more names than the Bible. The “round-over,” the “lollipop,” and the “bob” to name a few. No matter how you call it, Haywood County’s favorite way of trimming trees is despised by tree experts, yet it’s probably here…

One Swain County resident expressed concern last week that developers and speculators will rush to break ground on mountainside subdivisions in the next few months to beat out development regulations coming down the pipe.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The owner of Ghost Town in the Sky and the North Carolina Department of Labor have signed a unique agreement that aims to ensure that the historic Maggie Valley amusement park opens on time.

When Commissioner Glenn Jones pulled into the Stillhouse Branch trailer park in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Swain County last October, he’d strayed far from the campaign path of most candidates.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A group of about 20 angry Realtors and developers showed up uninvited at a special media briefing Thursday to have another crack at Jackson County officials and further express their dissatisfaction with commissioners’ moves…

Jackson County commissioners have called for a public hearing on a proposed moratorium on new subdivision development while the planning board authors a subdivision ordinance. Commissioners want the ordinance to address concerns such as steep slope development and minimum standards.…

When Macon County Manager Sam Greenwood retires at the end of this year, he’ll take with him more than three decades of governmental experience and an encyclopedic understanding of the county’s political scene.

Controversy among downtown Sylva merchants and property owners could either escalate or come to a close this week, depending on what route the Downtown Sylva Association takes at a town board meeting Thursday expected to draw crowds of merchants.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County commissioners have taken the first step toward temporarily stopping new subdivision development, calling for a Feb. 27 public hearing on a six-month moratorium.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is placing a $650 million bet that visitors to Harrah’s casino and hotel are looking for amenities akin to those that are becoming standard across the gaming industry.

The Haywood County Board of Commissioners have appointed two new members to the Tourism Development Authority board: Deborah Reed, a leader of the Canton merchant’s association FOCUS, and Art O’Neil, owner of Sunset Inn, Sunset Bakery and Sunset Café at…

The North Carolina Election Board says it could be another month or two before someone can make the trip from Raleigh to Bryson City to look into complaints of illegal voter intimidation and improper handling of absentee ballots associated with…

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Franklin town officials have turned down a request made by the owners of the Wal-Mart plaza in Franklin to help encourage expansion in the store’s current location along the U.S. 441 bypass rather than…

Students in Haywood County are on the front lines of an ambitious effort to reintroduce a slew of native species to the Pigeon River following decades of pollution from the Canton paper mill that destroyed the aquatic habitat.

Thanks to major environmental investments by Blue Ridge Paper Products in Canton, the last advisory against eating fish downstream of the mill was lifted this month — ending a 20-year effort to clean up the river following decades of pollution…

New developments have emerged involving the the purchase of a small piece of land in Maggie Valley by the town for a park. Alderman Phil Aldridge made $6,500 in commission for acting as the town’s real estate agent in the…

The following testimony was provided by Rhonda Bedsaul, 47, of Swain County. A similar account was provided by Bedsaul’s husband, Ron, 42. Both affidavits have been turned over to the state election board for further investigation.

A record number of applicants are seeking seats on the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, likely spurred by the ongoing tug of war over the best way to spend $650,000 annually in tourism promotion dollars.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County commissioners have set in motion a strategy to make up for the past and plan for the future, directing the planning board to make several land-use ordinances this year’s top priority.

As the Cherokee election season gets under way in the race for chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, there’s one dynamic that won’t be at play: catering to the hundreds of enrolled tribal members who live in far-flung…

The Downtown Sylva Association will hold a series of public meetings in January to answer questions about a proposed municipal service district tax, DSA president Sheryl Rudd recently told town board members.

Preamble What can we do now to ensure that in 20 years Franklin will still be recognized as a great place to live? This question is critical as we grapple with the formidable challenge of managing growth. In North Carolina…

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Local Mediacom cable subscribers up late Friday night saw their ABC affiliate WLOS Channel 13 go dark at midnight, as the company and Sinclair Broadcast Group have failed to reach an agreement that would…

Dave Curphey’s story is a dime a dozen. Fed up with the urban sprawl that ruined his small town in Florida, devouring a landscape once dominated with orchards in just 10 short years, he packed his bags and moved to…

More than 300 people attended a public hearing on Land For Tomorrow in Asheville last week, overwhelming the expectations of those conducting the hearing. Some people drove for nearly two hours to come voice their support for the initiative.

Creation of a one-half cent local option sales tax to support building needs at Haywood Community College and tax relief from spiraling property values are among the issues Haywood County commissioners are urging legislators to address when the North Carolina…

By Sarah Kucharski In January 2005, Jackson County Commissioners called in more than $1.2 million in loans issued to six local industries, suspended participation in the Economic Development Commission and launched an investigation of the commission’s financial records.

The current falling out between Haywood Regional Medical Center and the ER doctors is a symptom of a larger problem afoot, according to physicians who appealed to the hospital board on behalf of the medical community last week.

2006 was a big year for news in the mountains. From the economy to the world of politics, there’s been a lot of change. We’ve selected some of the best quotes from newsmakers in 2006 to help put the year…

Haywood Emergency Physicians expressed concern at a public forum last Tuesday night (Dec. 19) about the turnover of emergency room operations at Haywood Regional Medical Center to a new corporate physician staffing entity at midnight the night of Thursday, Dec.…

Jackson County Commissioners last week strategically deferred making a decision about who would become the newest member of the Jackson County Airport Authority, in effect throwing out the list of names authority members submitted for approval.

Despite outcry from the medical community and general public, the hospital board of Haywood Regional Medical Center has stood by its decision to oust a long-time group of ER doctors and replace them with a corporate physician staffing company.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Macon County Commissioners unanimously approved a moratorium on high-rise development Monday, giving county planning and legal staff 11 months to write an ordinance that if adopted could potentially prohibit such development for a long…

The Haywood County medical community sent a strong message at a countywide meeting of doctors last Tuesday night (Dec. 12). In a 50 to 2 vote, physicians asked the hospital board of Haywood Regional Medical Center to reconsider their decision…

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Two years have passed since the Jackson County Commissioners suspended their participation with the local Economic Development Commission, launched an internal investigation and audit of the EDC and EDC office and attempted to remove…

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The delivery of 3,000 gallons of B-20 biodiesel manufactured by Smoky Mountain Biofuels made Hop’s Gas and Grocery on Old Cullowhee Road the first station to offer a public biodiesel pump west of Asheville…

The competition between Western Carolina University students to win a building contract at a Cullowhee church was just for fun, but the construction ideas and issues they pointed out recently were real — and appreciated.

The Haywood County medical community was expected to voice its disatisfaction Tuesday night with a move by Haywood Regional Medical Center CEO David Rice to oust a long-time group of emergency room physicians and turn over the ER to a…

Phoenix Emergency Physicians is making progress rounding up a new set of emergency room doctors to work at Haywood Regional Medical Center, according to Chris Lutes, the manager of the corporate physician staffing agency.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer The Town of Sylva has begun surveying the Fisher Creek watershed in anticipation of receiving a $3.5 million conservation easement to be awarded by the Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer With the announcement of plans to bring a new Wal-Mart Supercenter to Franklin, some say town aldermen have given away their only real bargaining chip that would aid negotiations to make the Big Box…

An ongoing power struggle between Haywood Regional Medical Center CEO David Rice and doctors in the emergency room came to a head last week when the hospital board, at Rice’s recommendation, voted to hand over ER operations to a corporate…

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Jackson County Librarian Michael Cartwright will be resigning from his post by the end of the year, prompting the Fontana Regional Library System to begin a search for his replacement.

Haywood Regional Medical Center and Haywood Emergency Physicians disagree over whether it was necessary to rewrite the doctors’ contract with the hospital while there is still 18 months left on the agreement.

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A high-rise moratorium is in the works for Macon County. On Monday night (Dec. 4), county commissioners directed new county attorney Lesley Moxley and Macon County Planner Stacy Guffey to draft an ordinance prohibiting…

After a sudden termination of their contract by Haywood Regional Medical Center last week, emergency room doctors say the reputation of hospital CEO David Rice is making it difficult to recruit new doctors to the county.